Arizona Jury Convicts New York Man of Laundering Nearly $1 Million for Tech Support Refund Scammers

On April 10, 2026, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Arizona announced that Seales, 58, a New York resident and citizen of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, was found guilty of conspiracy to commit money laundering after a six-day jury trial. He was taken into custody immediately following the verdict. Sentencing was set for June 18, 2026. The case number is 24-CR-0419.

What did he do?

Prosecutors say Seales laundered nearly $1 million from a fraud scheme that targeted elderly victims around the country, including in Arizona. Many victims lost big chunks of their life savings.

Seales kept a cut. The rest he pushed through what prosecutors called "a maze of financial transactions," using crypto transfers or other transfers offshore, including to India.

The scam itself

This is the playbook for tech support scams. According to the U.S. Attorney's Office, the organization used phishing: fake emails, texts, pop-ups and websites pretending to be banks and software or tech companies.

• The frozen screen. Some victims saw a pop-up that froze their computer and told them to call. The people who answered claimed to be from Apple or Microsoft.
• The fake charge. Others got emails or texts saying they'd been charged by Geek Squad, PayPal or an antivirus company. Those charges never happened. They were bait.
• The over-refund. Once victims called, they were convinced these "legitimate companies" had accidentally refunded too much into their bank accounts. So victims sent their own money back, thinking they were returning the overpayment.
• The scare. Victims were also told their bank accounts were hacked, and some were told their money had gone to child sexual abuse material, pornography or a gambling site.
• The "protection" move. They were then asked to transfer the money in their accounts to several other places to "protect" their accounts or "catch" the scammers.

The U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the New York State Police investigated.

Why should you care?

Look at those brand names. Apple. Microsoft. Geek Squad. PayPal. Scammers borrow the trust of real companies. If you work in marketing or customer service for a big brand, your customers are getting these calls in your name.

And for the mules out there: a jury trial didn't save this guy. Six days of evidence, and he walked out in custody.

What to do this week

• Teach the "over-refund" scam. No real company refunds you too much and asks for it back by wire or crypto.
• Ignore surprise charge emails. Log into the real account directly. Don't call the number in the email.
• Pop-up froze your screen? Turn off the computer. Don't call.
• Report it at ic3.gov or 1-833-FRAUD-11 (1-833-372-8311).

That's it. Scammers borrow big brand names. Don't trust the pop-up.